There was a time in Prince William’s life when all the ladies wanted to see him in a wetsuit (even Speedos). That time was when he was about 18 years old. Nowadays, William in a wetsuit looks sort of like a drowned rat. Maybe it’s the (lack of) hair? Anyway, William was in a pool with some scuba gear a few days ago because he’s just been made the new president of BSAC, Britain’s “governing body for scuba diving.” Power. Broker. While at this event, William interacted with children, talked about Prince George a little bit, had to explain to his father what “buff” meant and tried to explain how he’s been scuba diving all around the world without sounding like he takes 10 vacations a year.
Bath time can be a chaotic experience for any new parent – and Prince William says he is no exception.
“At the moment bath time is quite painful, but hopefully donning a snorkel and mask might calm him down,” the Duke of Cambridge joked of the waterlogged chaos that surrounds bathing his son Prince George, who turns 1 later this month, and also tests his parenting skills and patience.
William, 32, made the remarks, appropriately enough, while taking over the presidency of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) from his father Prince Charles, 65, where he told guests he hopes George will follow in the two generations’ footsteps and immerse himself in the joy and support of snorkeling, scuba diving and water sports.
William, who likes surfing and body boarding when vacationing in Cornwall and his been diving around the world, had the chance to don a wetsuit again and go underwater – this time in a London pool. The prince also enjoyed a laugh at his dad’s expense, when Chairman of the British Sub-Aqua Society (BSAS) Eugene Farrell shared a blast-from-the-past picture of Charles in the surf and described him to guests as “quite buff.” When Charles looked perplexed, William explained the term and added with a laugh, “Pa, you should be pleased!”
William then tried some snorkeling with a group of 8-year-olds to highlight the work being done by the BSAC to encourage diving among young people.
“I’ve been a fair weather diver up to this point,” said William, whose wife Kate is also a member of the BSAS and did some diving in north Wales where the couple lived until last fall. Concluded Williams to guests: “I’d like to get back into British waters.”
Prince George is such a delicious holy terror. I hope he keeps his parents on their toes for years to come. George does not like baths – maybe they need to bring in some rubber duckies or rubber bilbies? George needs something to squeeze/kill during bath time.
William also did an event with Harry for the launch of the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme. It involved a Google Chat, selfies, etc. Some of the stuff is kind of boring, but this caught my eye:
The Duke of Cambridge has described having his own family as the “silver lining” in his life following the tragedy of his mother’s death. The Duke, who was 15 when Diana, Princess of Wales died in 1997, said people who lose parents at a young age have to simply “dust yourself off and carry on”.
He made the comments to two brothers who lost their parents in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, during a reception to launch an award for young leaders. Rob and Paul Forkan were invited to the event at Buckingham Palace because their parents’ deaths inspired them to build orphanages in developing countries funded by their Gandy’s flip-flop manufacturing company. The brothers, who were 17 and 15 respectively when their parents Kevin and Sandra were swept to their deaths in Sri Lanka, survived by clinging onto the roof of a building. They and their younger brother and sister had to hitch-hike across Sri Lanka to reach a safe passage home.
Rob Forkan, 26, told the Duke that his parents had given up jobs in the fashion industry to volunteer for humanitarian projects, which inspired him and his brother to set up Gandy’s specifically to fund orphanages. Mr Forkan said: “He said he lost his mum at 15 but there was always a silver lining and you should dust yourself off and carry on. He applauded what we had done and said keep up the good work. He’s got his own family now – that was his silver lining.”
It’s very English, right? Very “stiff upper lip.” Show no emotions. Don’t talk about your feelings. Your mum died? Stop crying and move on. Now, I’m not saying that wallowing in grief is preferable or even healthy, but surely there’s a balance between taking some time to grieve and “carrying on.” I realize that’s nitpicky, but it just reminded me so much of how Diana was against the unemotional, the lack of feeling that she often saw in the royal family. She would have wanted her sons to carry on with life, of course, but she also wanted them to show compassion and genuine emotion.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Special thanks Cele Bitch